


Monster Hunters

by MadhouseVagabond



Series: Adventures of the Battle Buddies [5]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Bigfoot - Freeform, Gen, Monster Hunters, Slight fluff, Slow Build, battle buddies, small hints of Jeremwood, the boys get pretty banged up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-30 00:16:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13938504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadhouseVagabond/pseuds/MadhouseVagabond
Summary: The Battle Buddies are enjoying a small relaxing assignment the think will be easy, but things soon turn south when they find themselves hunting a monster!





	Monster Hunters

Jeremy sighed as he looked over from his bed at Ryan, sat in a fold out camping chair reading a book, his glasses perched atop the bridge of his nose. The two men had been hired for the most ridiculous job ever, Jeremy honestly thinking it was either a bad contractor trying to waste their time, or the Hunter's way of getting the Battle Buddies out of headquarters and everyone's hair for a bit. Either way sucked ass.

He sighed again a bit louder and Ryan glanced up, smiling knowingly. He bookmarked his place and set the book aside, taking his glasses off and rubbing his face with his hands.

"You're bored I get it. I warned you, you should've brought something to keep yourself busy," he said with a smile. His younger partner was much like himself in his youth, itching every minute of ever assignment to have some sort of action happen, and Ryan had to admit, if not for the books he'd brought he'd probably be in the same boat.

"This is stupid! We should be out taking down cartels, rescuing kidnapped diplomats, killing something! Instead we're here, stuck in the middle of the fucking woods chasing our asses like fools!" Jeremy grumbled as he began pacing.

"It's easy money," Ryan pointed out.

"Ryan it's absolutely ridiculous and a waste of our time!" Jeremy exclaimed. Ryan sighed and stood, placing his hands on Jeremy's shoulders to keep the lad still for a moment.

"Think of it this way, we're getting paid a shitload of money to go camping and hang out for a few days," he said. Jeremy frowned but sighed and nodded.

"I still think this is a waste of my time and energy. I'm a Hunter dammit, not some nerd chasing shadows!" he muttered. Ryan laughed and playfully shoved Jeremy.

"You're the biggest nerd I know Dooley!" he laughed. Jeremy smirked.

"Have you looked in the mirror lately Haywood?" he chuckled and dodged Ryan's playful jab at him as he winked.

"Let's just make the most of this assignment. It's not every job we get to sit back and relax," Ryan said as he stretched, Jeremy finding himself glancing down at the small sliver of Ryan's belly as his shirt stretched up. He glanced quickly away and blushed.

_Keep it together Dooley, you're a professional!_ he thought.

"I'm going outside to check the traps and cameras and maybe explore a bit. Wanna come?" Ryan asked, shaking Jeremy from his thoughts. He nodded and grabbed his rifle next to the door, looking up to see Ryan smirking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Look there could be bears or other shit okay!" Jeremy defended himself.

"Sure thing buddy," Ryan said with a chuckle as he grabbed his own rifle and exited the camper the two Hunters had been assigned for their mission.

The afternoon air was calm and peaceful, birds sang high in the trees and the distant sound of running water could be heard faintly. It was a pleasant summer day and Jeremy found himself enjoying the tranquility of it all, remembering a time long before he was a Hunter.

"It reminds me of when I used to go camping," Ryan said as they walked. Jeremy glanced at his partner.

"You? Camping? Ryan Haywood, the Vagabond of Rooster Corps?" he asked, earning a gentle smack on the back of his head.

"You're as bad as Gavin," Ryan said causing Jeremy to laugh.

"Yeah but you know love me," he joked, not noticing Ryan's slight flush to his cheeks.

"Can't get rid of you so I guess I'm stuck with you," he teased and bumped Jeremy the two sharing a smile as they continued.

"What was your favorite part?" Jeremy asked after awhile. Ryan looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Camping I mean. What did you like most about it?" Jeremy clarified. Ryan thought for a moment.

"Not sure. I guess I've always found the idea of roughing it and surviving in the wilderness exciting," he stated finally.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Jeremy asked.

"Shoot."

"I've never been camping," Jeremy said with an embarrassed look. Ryan came to a stop and stared at Jeremy.

"What? Never?" he asked. Jeremy shook his head.

"Had the opportunity a few times but it just never happened. Too busy with school or sports I guess," he said.

"Well, that's going to change!" Ryan said resolutely. Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

"I know I said this was like camping, and it basically is, but after this assignment I'm taking you on your first official camping trip!" Ryan said, smiling as Jeremy's eyes lit up.

"Really?" the lad asked, shocked and surprised.

"Really. We'll go all out! Campfire, s'mores, hiking, tents, the whole nine yards," Ryan said, growing excited at the idea himself.

"Wow! That's awesome, thanks Ryan, I don't know what to say," Jeremy smiled as they continued to walk, imagining the trip in his head.

"What're friends for? You're going to get the full camping experience," Ryan laughed.

The two lapsed into small talk and work related chatter, enjoying each other's company and the peacefulness surrounding them. It was if the two men could pretend for just a little while that their lives were normal, not that they'd trade it for anything, but it was nice to have a mission like this, even for the Battle Buddies. They came to the first trap, a large bear trap that they'd set up yesterday, the leaves still covered the slab of meat placed as bait.

"Nothing. Shocking!" Jeremy rolled his eyes and he walked forward, Ryan following. Three more traps and three more goose eggs, Jeremy not surprised in the least.

"Let's head back. There's one trap on the other side of the camper we haven't checked and it's starting to get dark. I'd like to be inside the camper when night falls," he said.

"What's wrong Jeremy? Scared Bigfoot will get you?" Ryan smirked.

"Ryan you know as well as I do that Bigfoot isn't real and this whole mission to catch one was just so we'd get out of Geoff's hair. I just want to be in shelter because of the wildlife here," Jeremy said pointing at the ground, the footprints of a mountain lion in the dirt.

"Mhmm," Ryan hummed with a smug look. Jeremy narrowed his eyes but the older man moved off towards camp before he could retort.

The two continued in silence, broken only when Jeremy started humming a small tune he'd come up with, Ryan listening and committing it to memory to hum later. He enjoyed listening to Jeremy's songs and tunes, admiring the lad for his creativity. To keep his hands busy Ryan twirled and flipped one of his various knives, Jeremy watching the movement out of the corner of his eye. He always marveled at Ryan's precision and deadly accuracy with knives. The camper came into view and Jeremy felt relief flood him. He wasn't sure why but he had a strange feeling at the back of his mind that they were being watched. Probably by an animal he wouldn't want to tangle with.

Although how cool would it be to march back into HQ wrapped in a cougar pelt with a necklace made of claws or fangs? The Pals would definitely blow a load over it!

"Why don't you stay here and I'll go check the trap real quick? You could maybe get dinner started?" Ryan suggested. Jeremy nodded and walked up the steps of the camper, turning before he walked in.

"Be careful Ryan. Wouldn't want anything to happen to my Battle Buddy," he said.

"Jeremy please, it's me," Ryan said with a smile.

"That's why I'm saying it," Jeremy winked before entering the camper, hearing Ryan chuckle as he walked away towards their last trap.

Jeremy busied himself with getting stuff set out for dinner, thinking burgers would be best. He got the meat, seasonings and heated the stove. While he waited for the surface to heat up he checked the computer, the many camera views from their trap cams feeding live onto the screen. He waited a minute, hoping to see Ryan walking into view of the camera. So far nothing. They had their comms but hadn't had much use for them since they'd basically stayed near each other since they got here two days ago. He was about to turn when he spied movement on one of the cams. He quickly sat down and watched closely, hoping it was some sort of cool animal he could watch for a minute. Finally Ryan walked into view and approached cam 1, standing awfully close, his crotch in full frame as he stood over it. Jeremy hung his head and chuckled as Ryan turned his back to the camera and looked down at the trap, bending and the waist as he stuck his ass out teasingly into the view of the camera.

Jeremy facepalmed.

"Enjoying the view Dooley?" Ryan's voice spoke in his ear.

"You're an idiot Ryan," Jeremy laughed as Ryan gave a small shake before standing straight.

"Yeah but I knew you'd be spying on me," Ryan laughed as he waved at the camera and stuck out his tongue, Jeremy nearly waving back on instinct.

"Well hurry your ass back already, I'm cooking burgers for us," Jeremy laughed at his friend's antics, feeling heat in his ears and glad Ryan couldn't see him.

"Sounds delicious. Be back in a few buddy," he said as he started off. Jeremy was about to respond when something caught his eye. He glanced at cam 3 and his eyes widened.

Barely visible was a large figure standing amongst the trees, staring at the camera and trap. It was much larger than anything he'd ever seen and looked powerful. Jeremy felt panic fill him as he realized Ryan would have to pass cam 3 in order to reach the camper. Quickly he commed his partner.

"Ryan get out of there!" he nearly screamed.

"What's wrong Jeremy?" Ryan asked, sounding like he'd just sprinted a short distance, something Jeremy knew the gent hated doing.

"I saw something on cam 3, something big! I think it was a bear!" Jeremy responded scanning each cam for either Ryan or the bear. Nothing appeared on the screen.

"It probably smelled the meat in the traps. I could take care of it real quick," Ryan said.

"Ryan you're not fighting a fucking bear alone! Get back here already," Jeremy sighed. Ryan chuckled.

"Fun killer. I'm taking a wider route back, keep the door closed and locked till I get there okay?" Ryan asked.

"Affirmative," Jeremy acknowledged as he stood and slammed the door closed. He pulled the food off the stove and shoved it into the oven to try and smother the smell of the cooked meat, then checked to see if his rifle was loaded.

The minutes dragged on and Jeremy grew more and more nervous. Ryan should be back by now if he'd been hurrying, unless he'd decided to go slow and silent. Jeremy chided himself for being scared, he'd taken down an army of fucking zombie nazis and a resurrected Hitler for Pete's sake! One stupid bear was nothing compared to that and other foes he'd had to take out. He calmed himself and began to feel better. Besides, he reasoned with himself, the bear would probably be more scared of the two men than they were of it. Finally he heard rapid footfalls approaching the camper, the sounds not being heavy like a large animal. He heaved a sigh of relief as he dashed to the door, ripped it open and yanked Ryan inside, slamming the door behind him.

Ryan bent over, breathing hard as he tried to catch his breath, smiling up at Jeremy.

"Miss me?" he gasped. Jeremy snorted and pulled Ryan in for a quick hug before walking back to the computer.

"I haven't seen it since I warned you earlier. Maybe it's gone?" he suggested hopefully. Ryan walked over and watched the monitors.

"Maybe," he said softly but didn't seem convinced.

"Do you think Bigfoots eat bears?" Jeremy asked with a smile. A wicked grin crossed Ryan's face and Jeremy recognized it right away.

"I was joking!" he exclaimed.

"Well, even if there isn't a Bigfoot, it's one less problem to worry about," the tall man pointed out, drawing his large Bowie knife and playing with it.

"You really wanna go fight a fucking bear Ryan?" Jeremy asked. Ryan shrugged and smiled as if the idea sounded good.

"I mean, it would be badass," he said. Jeremy stared at him for a second before sighing and putting a hand over his face.

"Why are we like this?" he asked as he smiled up at his partner who grinned back.

"Cause we're fucking awesome!" Ryan cheered causing Jeremy to laugh as he reached for his gun.

"Alright, let's go kill a bear!" he said.

The two flung open the door and walked out into the darkness, making sure to take their NVGs and flare guns along with tracer rounds in case they wounded or lost the bear. The woods were quiet, too quiet, Jeremy's nerves on edge once again.

"You hear that?" he asked softly.

"The thunderous silence? Yep," Ryan confirmed popping his p. "There's something out there scaring the wildlife into silence."

"Did you see it on your way over?" Jeremy asked after another moment of silence.

"No. I probably would've killed it then if I had," Ryan said. Jeremy nodded, a nagging feeling at the back of his mind as he thought back to that moment.

"It stood on two legs. I know bears do that shit but there was something off about it, like the way it stood," he began. Ryan glanced back at him.

"It seemed a little hunched. And it stood longer than I've ever seen any bear stand on two legs," Jeremy finished. Ryan grunted and continued forward.

Jeremy looked down and checked the small device both men had strapped to their forearms before they'd left, a smaller version of the computer at the camper, the camera screen feeds appearing on the smaller monitor. All cams were live. He scanned over each one, memorizing every detail. Glancing up to see that he wasn't too far behind Ryan he looked back down, smiling slightly with relief when all he saw on the cameras was a deer on cam 4.

_You're being silly Dooley, there's nothing out there. There's no bear, no danger, and definitely no Bigfoo-_ his thoughts were interrupted by a slight movement on cam 4.

The deer had perked up, looking out at the world on high alert. Jeremy knew enough about animals to know there was something out there troubling the deer, his nerves spiking once more as he held his breath and watched. The deer pawed at the ground nervously and twitched its ears, searching for any sound of whatever has spooked it. Suddenly there was a flash of movement across the cam and the deer was bolting away.

"Holy shit!" Jeremy exclaimed with a jump. He looked up and froze.

Ryan was nowhere to be seen.

Panic filled him as he whirled around, looking desperately in every direction for familiar broad shoulders, or the light from Ryan's flashlight. All he saw around him was dark forest.

"Ryan? Buddy? I lost ya, mind firing a flare or something?" he called. He was met with silence. Swallowing he moved forward, seeing that he was approaching cam 6 and he checked the monitor. No sign of Ryan but there was a building of some sort, an old log cabin perhaps?

Jeremy made his way there, knowing some form of shelter was better than none, and he could try and contact his partner from the safety of a building. Reaching the cabin he checked the trap first, nodding when he saw that it was still set and undisturbed, before marching into the small shack. There wasn't much there, and it could barely qualify as a shack. The windows and door were gone, just gaping holes in the walls now. He walked in and made sure he had access to an exit before checking his monitor again. Still no sign of Ryan or the bear.

"Ryan this isn't funny okay? Are you okay?" he asked into the comm. still nothing. He rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Damn son of a bitch Haywood," he muttered.

"Boo!"

Jeremy would never admit to another human being that he screamed. Very loudly. Ryan stood there laughing his ass off as Jeremy scrambled back, having fallen on his ass out of fright.

"Damn it Ryan!" he exclaimed.

"That was great! Wish I'd gotten it on camera!" Ryan laughed.

"You can be a real prick sometimes you know that?" Jeremy glared at his giggling partner, crossing his arms over his chest.

"C'mon Jer, you know it was a joke. How could I not take the opportunity?" Ryan asked. Jeremy frowned. He knew Ryan was right, they both had pulled pranks on each other and the other agents at Rooster Corps, the Battle Buddies making it their obligation and duty.

"Yeah well you're still an asshole," Jeremy said as he walked out of the shack and turned to head back to the camper. Ryan followed close behind, falling quiet. He did feel sorta bad for scaring Jeremy, but the lad had never had a problem with it before, he wondered if he'd done something earlier to piss Jeremy off and he was still mad at him. The more Ryan thought, the worse he felt. He began to overthink, something he was notorious for doing. Jeremy came to an abrupt halt, Ryan nearly colliding with him.

"Look, I know you're just being you, and under normal circumstances it'd be fine. But we're on assignment, and there's a potentially wild dangerous animal out there," Jeremy said turning to Ryan with a sigh. Ryan nodded and scratched the back of his head.

"Are you okay? Things like this usually don't bother you. Did I do something earlier?" Ryan asked after a moment, biting his lip. Jeremy looked surprised.

"What? No, why would you ask that?" he exclaimed, confusion on his face.

"I don't know, you're just acting very unusual and I thought..." Ryan's voice trailed off and he looked away. Jeremy was taken aback. Did Ryan think he did something wrong?

He reached up and gently gripped the Gent's shoulder, squeezing softly as Ryan looked back at him.

"It's nothing you've done buddy, okay? Don't start doing this to yourself," Jeremy said.

"Doing what?" Ryan asked lamely.

"You know exactly what Haywood. Overthinking and getting too deep into your own head. Every time you do that you get depressed and mopey and that's the last thing we want. Okay? You did nothing wrong, none of this is your fault," Jeremy stated firmly. Ryan studied his partner for a moment before nodding, sighing deeply.

"Okay," he said. Jeremy smiled and gave Ryan's shoulder a pat.

"That's better. Why are we being all doomy and gloomy?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure those aren't real words."

"Shut up they are now. The point is what happened to our carefree, gung-ho attitude? We're the fucking Battle Buddies dammit!" Jeremy said resolutely and slammed his foot into the ground. Ryan smiled and nodded.

"Right! We can do anything!" he cheered.

"Hell there probably isn't even a Bigfoot or a bear!" Jeremy laughed as he turned to continue walking.

Just then a monstrous roar filled the night air, sounding like the angry cry of some mad beast from stories and legends rather than any animal either man had heard. Jeremy turned, growing pale to stare at Ryan who was frowning as he pulled out his large Bowie knife.

"What was that?" Jeremy asked trying to stay calm.

"Well, it wasn't any bear I've ever heard," Ryan replied as he started forward slowly, walking silently as he shifted each step from heel to ball to toe. Jeremy mimicked his partners movements, the two ghosting silently through the forest.

"Maybe it was a cougar," Jeremy offered. Ryan snorted but remained silent.

The two silently made their way in the direction of the camper, nerves on edge and ready to fight whatever was out there if they had to, though both secretly hoped they wouldn't. Another roar sounded, this time slightly closer but it sounded pained. Jeremy checked the cams and froze.

"Ryan..." he said, voice strained. Ryan turned and looked over the lads shoulder, eyes growing large.

There, on cam 4, clear as day was a large, hairy creature crouched over the bear trap. It didn't look like it was caught, but it was occupied with something there. Jeremy gagged when he realized that the creature was eating a deer that had somehow gotten itself locked in the bear trap. Ryan took off, wasting no time in loading a tracer round into his rifle. Jeremy darted after him loading his own rifle with lethal rounds and loading a flare.

The intel they'd received from their contractor had seemed ridiculous at the time but now it came back to Jeremy. There had been several campers and hikers gone missing in these parts of the woods outside Austin Texas for about a week, the locals reporting sightings of Bigfoot and claiming that it was the cause of the disappearing people and livestock. Supposedly the creature was nocturnal and had shown fear towards flares or fires from a group of rednecks that had tried to catch it a few months back. Jeremy shook his head, still trying to wrap his mind around all this.

It couldn't be real. Maybe it was a dream, or maybe he'd been knocked unconscious during a mission and this entire escapade was in his imagination. The roaring continued as the two men ran towards the creature. As they drew nearer they slowed, and with the experience of working together for years split, Jeremy circling off to the left and Ryan to the right.

Jeremy came into view of the trap first, the creature nowhere in sight, the deer lying in tattered remains nearly causing him to gag. He spied Ryan walking into view ten feet away, crouched low as he stalked into sight, eyes darting back and forth as he scanned the area for any sign of the creature. Jeremy was about to call to him when a roar sounded and a giant figure charged out of the brush towards Ryan.

"Watch out!" Jeremy screamed as he leveled his flare gun and fired, the flare zipping towards the two and lighting up the area. The flare struck true, the creature fully illuminated as it was struck. Jeremy froze as shock filled him. The creature was a good three or four feet taller than Ryan, was covered in a grayish black fur, had glowing angry eyes, and dripping fangs that were bared.

The creature scrambled back from the flare in fear but managed to swipe at Ryan, it's large forearm delivering a glancing blow to the man's chest, sending Ryan flying backwards. Without hesitation Jeremy took aim and fired his rifle, a satisfying splatter of green blood exploding from the Bigfoot's shoulder as he ran forward to protect Ryan. The creature howled in pain, turned to Jeremy and charged, the lad ducking and rolling under the monster's initial attack and shooting it again from one knee. Ryan sat up and fired a tracer round into the back of the creature as it shrieked in pain and dashed off into the night.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked as he stumbled over to Jeremy.

"I should be asking you that! Are you hurt?" Jeremy brushed the question aside as he checked Ryan for wounds. The gent allowed his younger partner to gently lift his shirt up and examine the area where he'd been struck, Jeremy trying not to admire the chest of his friend. Some bruising had started to set in and when Jeremy pressed against it Ryan didn't flinch, so no broken ribs.

"You're lucky it was only a glancing blow. That thing could've really done a number on you," he said as he looked up at Ryan.

"I'll be fine. Let's track that thing!" Ryan said eagerly and Jeremy nodded. The two checked their trackers and saw that the creature was headed towards the camper and the rocky hills around it. They set out at a decent pace, eager to find the creature and capture or kill it, if only to get a better look.

"It took those shots almost as if they didn't bother it," Jeremy breathed as they ran. Ryan grunted and tried to think of a better way to take the thing down.

"Didn't we have tranquilizer darts at the camper?" he asked. Jeremy nodded as he began to see where Ryan was going.

"And rope and a gurney type contraption. If we can knock this thing out," he started.

"Then we can tie it up and haul it back to the cage we brought!" Ryan concluded the thought.

"I'll grab the darts, you grab the rope. I think it's at the back of the trailer near the cage," Jeremy said as the camper came into view. Ryan nodded and the two split, Jeremy dashing into the cab and searching for the darts.

He finally found them and turned to head out. What he saw froze his blood and took his breath away. The Bigfoot was standing just outside the window, head and shoulders sticking through the window as it reached a giant clawed hand towards him. Jeremy scrambled back with a startled cry, crashing to the floor.

"Ryan! Help!" he shouted as he scrambled for his own knife, the creature's enormous appendage edging closer. He felt the creature seize his leg and begin to drag him towards the gaping maw.

"No! Fuck no this is not how this is going down asshole!" Jeremy shouted and plunged his knife into the forearm of the Bigfoot.

The creature howled in pain and released Jeremy's leg, ripping its arm back. Jeremy scrambled to his feet, knife gripped in a ready position as he crouched ready to fight. The Bigfoot roared and lunged at Jeremy, but a shot rang out. The creature howled and pulled its head out of the window. Ryan stood three feet away, rifle in hand and a deadly look on his face.

"Get away from my Battle Buddy you son of a bitch!" he snarled and fired again. The Bigfoot roared and pulled completely out of the window and turned on the tall man, swiping a deadly blow at him, but Ryan was ready this time.

He ducked under the swing and rolled, raising to one knee behind the creature and firing again into its back, blood spilling from its wounds. Lashing out with a backhand, the Bigfoot's arm slammed into Ryan's chest, sending the man sprawling, his gun flying out of his hands. The creature stood over Ryan and was about to rip him to pieces when something slammed into its back. Jeremy had come barreling out of the camper and launched himself high into the air, latching onto the monster's back and plunging his knife repeatedly into the flesh there.

Bigfoot wailed in pain and desperately tried to shake the small human off its back, but Jeremy wasn't letting go, determined to keep the creature off Ryan. The monster spun and slammed its back against the camper, sending Jeremy falling to the ground with a cry of pain. As he hit the ground he rolled and slashed at Bigfoot's ankles, satisfied when he made contact. The monster roared and dashed away into the night, Ryan struggling to his feet and firing one last tracker bullet into the retreating figure's back before it vanished into the night.

"Jeremy are you okay?" Ryan asked as he stumbled over to where Jeremy was lying on the ground panting. The lad looked up and held up a thumb.

"Just...dandy," he breathed. Ryan smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"When I heard you screaming...I was so worried," he whispered as he hugged his partner. Jeremy smiled as he hugged Ryan back, relieved that he was alright.

"Let's never take a job like this again," he joked, earning a snort from Ryan as he pulled away.

"C'mon, the jobs not over yet," Ryan said.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Jeremy smiled as they took off into the night.

The two followed the tracker beacon as the monster sped through the forest, the two spotting patches of green blood every once in awhile. They made their way to the marsh before the trail went cold.

"Fuck. Now what do we do?" Jeremy asked. Ryan peered out into the swamp and frowned.

"Let's see if we can walk around it. I've already had my ass handed to me by a mythological creature, I don't need leeches to worry about," he said. The two walked the perimeter of the swamp, keeping their eyes and ears open for any signs of the monster.

As they neared their original starting point Jeremy froze and gripped Ryan's arm, pointing out into the darkness of the swamp. There, a few feet in peering at them from behind a fallen tree was the creature. It was breathing heavily as it glared at the two men. Ryan signaled for Jeremy to take the right as he began slowly moving to his left, trying to get a better angle, Jeremy circling around behind the creature so it was pinned between them. Ryan slowly raised his rifle and aimed it at the creature. Before he could fire there was a loud metallic snapping sound and white flames of pain shot up through his leg and a scream ripped itself from his throat as he fell to the ground. He looked down and winced at the sight of his own leg trapped within the jaws of one of their bear traps.

"Ryan! I'm coming!" Jeremy shouted as the monster roared and charged at the fallen man. Ryan reached for his gun but it was just out of reach, panic filling him as he looked up to see the giant creature bearing down on him.

A shot rang out and the creature howled as it veered to the side, narrowly missing Ryan. It turned to see the smaller man charging at it, gun raised. Anger filled the creature as it roared and charged straight at the little man, determined to smash him. Jeremy rolled and fired into the monster's torso before launching himself away. His size and speed were his greatest advantage. He darted behind the Bigfoot and used his training in acrobatics to launch himself up onto the creature and plunge his knife in between its shoulder blades up to the hilt. The Bigfoot screamed and grabbed at Jeremy, the man dodging each time the hands got near him as he kept plunging his knife into the flesh of the monster. Ryan reached as far as he could but still couldn't grab his gun, turning instead to the trap holding him. Taking several breaths he gritted his teeth as he gripped the two jaws of the trap and began to pry them apart.

He moaned in pain as the pressure around his ankle released, hoping that none of the teeth had shredded his foot. With a final cry of pain he yanked his foot away, the jaws of the trap snapping shut loudly. Ryan rolled to the side and grabbed his gun, checking to see if there was a round in the chamber before leveling it at the giant.

"Jeremy jump!" he yelled. Jeremy, without hesitation released his grip on the Bigfoot's back and shoved off with all his strength, launching himself into a backflip, landing a few feet away in a crouched position, already loading a tranquilizer dart into his gun.

Ryan fired center mass, the Bigfoot screeching in pain as it doubled over, glaring death at the human hurting it. Ryan fired again, rising to stand on shaky feet, careful not to put pressure on his injured foot. Jeremy leveled his own rifle and fired the dart, not waiting for a result but quickly loading another and firing. The Bigfoot screeched and darted away, leaving the two men breathing hard. Jeremy ran over to Ryan who groaned and nearly collapsed as the adrenaline wore off.

"Ryan! Holy shit we need to get you back!" Jeremy exclaimed as he glanced down at his friend's injury.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Ryan attempted a joke as he winced. Jeremy took Ryan's right arm and pulled it around his shoulders, supporting the taller man's weight as they stumbled towards the camper.

"Do you think we got it?" Jeremy asked. Ryan shook his head.

"That's one tough son of a bitch! I doubt he'd go down so easily. How much tranquilizer did you give it?" he asked.

"Two doses," Jeremy said.

"That may be enough. Maybe," Ryan muttered.

"What matters now is getting you back to the camper and patched up. You're not bleeding out on me here Haywood!" Jeremy scolded firmly but Ryan picked up the concern in his friend's voice and he smiled.

The two made their way slowly back to the camper, Jeremy checking the cams ever few feet to make sure the beast wasn't following them. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the camper came into view, both men sighing in relief.

Until an angry roar split the night air.

"Fuck me!" Jeremy shouted as a large figure stormed into view.

The Bigfoot snarled and charged, sending the two men were weaker this time. Ryan lunged to one side and Jeremy to the other at the last second, narrowly avoiding being trampled into the ground. Jeremy fired another tranquilizer while Ryan fired lethals. The Bigfoot roared in anger and charged at Ryan, Jeremy letting out a scream as he fired once again. Ryan threw his gun to the side and pulled out the flare gun, managing to fire one shot before the monster was upon him. He dodged and ducked, desperately trying to avoid becoming a human pancake. He noticed that the creature seemed to be slowing and took the offensive, pulling out his Bowie knife and attacking the monster with the primal rage and ferocity that had given him his reputation as a dangerous killer. Jeremy fired another tranquilizer before casting his own rifle away and charging with his knife, determined to help Ryan.

With the tables turned and the two men fighting with their pointy sticks, the Bigfoot seemed to have second thoughts. It wasn't sure why but its movements seemed sluggish and it's vision was slowly fading to black. Jeremy noticed and with one final push he took a running start and launched himself into the air, planting both feet in the center of the monster's back and sending it sprawling forward onto its hands and knees. Ryan collapsed to the ground in pain and exhaustion as he panted, staring at the creature as it struggled to stand. Jeremy stalker around the front and stood between his friend and the beast.

"No one hurts my Battle Buddy. Lights out asshole!" he spat and raised his leg high into the air above the Bigfoot's head, bringing it down to deliver a crushing blow on the back of its head, sending the creature crashing to the ground, finally immobilized.

With a sigh of relief Jeremy collapsed to the ground beside Ryan and tried to catch his breath. Ryan wrapped an arm around Jeremy shoulder and pulled him in for a hug.

"Thanks buddy," he whispered.

"You don't get to die on me Haywood. We're partners, Battle Buddies," Jeremy said.

"Battle Buddies," Ryan started their favorite saying.

"Battle Buddies, forever," Jeremy finished.

The two quickly tied up the monster with the rope Ryan had and somehow managed to roll it over onto the gurney. Jeremy insisted that Ryan sit atop the unconscious creature to keep weight off his injured foot, as he pulled the gurney through the woods to the camper only a few yards away. When they reached the camper the two locked the beast inside the cage they'd been given and slowly trudged into the cab of the camper, Ryan wincing in pain as Jeremy carefully removed his boot and sock to examine the wound. Luckily the metal had just clamped over Ryan's ankle, the teeth somehow not penetrating the leather of his boot. The skin was bloody and sore, and Jeremy determined that the taller man would have a limp for a few weeks but should make a speedy recovery, especially with proper medical attention. Collapsing into their bunks, the two men fell asleep, exhausted from the day's events.

The next day they packed up their supplies and gathered up the remaining traps before contacting their contractor and setting up a meeting spot. The two delivered the monster to their contact and collected the first half of their pay before climbing into the pickup they'd originally driven here in and setting off for HQ. The drive was peaceful and relaxing, Ryan keeping pressure off his foot as he sat in the passenger seat, Jeremy humming to himself as he drove.

"So, we gonna talk about how we kick the missing links ass to anyone?" Ryan asked finally.

"No one would believe us Ry. Besides, I'm still trying to make sense of it all and I was there doing half the ass kicking," Jeremy replied. Ryan hummed his response and the two lapsed into silence again for a minute.

"It was sorta fun," Ryan said after a moment. Jeremy laughed and nodded.

"You're not wrong buddy. Who would've thought that we'd grow up to fight Bigfoot?" he chuckled.

"Won't the Pals be jealous?" Ryan smiled.

"SHIT!" Jeremy exclaimed all of a sudden.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked growing concerned.

"I didn't get any evidence that we fought Bigfoot! Not even a photo!" Jeremy wailed. Ryan burst into laughter, laughter that rang through the air as the two drove home.


End file.
